gotta catch 'em all'
by tmnt-luver
Summary: Just another TMNT story where the turtles are five-year-olds (again!) - The TMNT's find a weird creature. Mikey thinks it's a Pokémon, but who knows? Feel free to read and review! luv tmnt_luver xxXxx


'Gotta catch 'em all'  
  
(Yes, I'm bad aren't I? I just love doing the baby stories).  
  
"But, but, but I -."  
  
"No 'buts', Michelangelo", Splinter interrupted his five-year-old son firmly. He kept his voice gently, but it was hard when having to stare into Mikey's puppy-dog eyes.  
  
"But, but -."  
  
"I'm sorry, but it's just for one day", Splinter said softly.  
  
Michelangelo gazed down at his yellow, gameboy colour and sighed.  
  
Splinter sat in his favourite armchair in their sewer lair, watching Michelangelo with his warm, brown eyes. His three other sons stood behind Mikey, their gazes on their feet and their face expressions blank and a little bit confused.  
  
Splinter had said that - just for one day - all four of his sons would have to give up one thing that they love. He didn't do it to hurt his sons, he wanted to teach them a valuable lesson in life, and they had to figure it out.  
  
Mikey gazed at his gameboy one more time before giving it to his Master. He bowed respectfully and stood inline with his brothers.  
  
Leo stood on one side of Mikey. Raph on the other and Donnie on the end. They all gazed at their Master with puppy-dog eyes and a small smile.  
  
Splinter smiled back and stood up. "Find something different to do my sons, trust me, you will learn your lesson, and remember, it's just for one day". He picked up all the stuff his sons had given him and walked into his bedroom. If they wanted to learn a lesson, they had to learn it alone.  
  
Mikey watched his Master leave and sighed. "Oh, not fair".  
  
"What are you talking about?" Raph asked, turning his gaze to his brother. "You got it easy . he took my Sais", Raph added, putting his head down.  
  
"He took my gameboy!" Mikey nearly shouted.  
  
"Stupid thing anyway", Raph mumbled.  
  
"Is not!" Mikey shouted.  
  
"Is too!"  
  
"Is not!"  
  
"IS TOO!"  
  
"IS NOT!"  
  
"Guys!" Leo shouted, breaking up their little quarrel. "We all got our best things took away. Remember it's only for ONE day".  
  
"It's only for ONE day", Raph mimicked.  
  
Donnie smiled a little at Leo. Being the quiet one, he didn't like to interrupt when Leo or Raph argued or when an argument was brewing. But he did know how Raph and Mikey felt. He knew Splinter wanted to see how they got along.  
  
"Donnie?" Leo asked. "What did Splin'er take off you?"  
  
Donnie's face formed into a frown. "Computer", he said quietly.  
  
"Umm", Leo said.  
  
"Shall we watch a movie?" Mikey piped up.  
  
"Yeah", Leo replied, nodding.  
  
//  
  
"'Waph: I wanna watch 'Bob The Builder'!" Mikey shouted.  
  
"Well I wanna watch 'Space Jam'!" Raph shouted back.  
  
"Bob!" Mikey said, bringing the remote to him.  
  
"Space Jam!" Raph shouted, pulling the remote back.  
  
"BOB!"  
  
"SPACE JAM!"  
  
"Bo -."  
  
"Guys!" Leo interrupted for the second time that day. "Let Donnie choose".  
  
"Why?" Raph and Mikey asked.  
  
"His turn this week", Leo replied with a small smile on his face. He grabbed the remote from Mikey and Raph's hands and passed it to Donnie, who was sitting next to him on the living room sofa.  
  
Mikey and Raph gave up arguing, and sat down on the floor.  
  
Donatello switched through channels with his little finger on the remote and stopped when a picture of a computer came on the screen.  
  
Leo sighed. He knew how his brothers felt because Splinter had taken away his katannas so he wouldn't play fight (or proper fight) with Raph and he had taken away Leo's favourite magazines. Leo knew that his Master wanted to teach them that there was more to life than fun and games.  
  
"Donnie!" Raph said, stopping Leo's thoughts. "Turn it over!"  
  
Donnie ignored him and sighed. "Man, I'm bored".  
  
"Hey, hey!" Mikey shouted excitedly, getting his brothers' attention. "Look what I found. It was hidden under the 'wug", Mikey lifted the old rug off the living room floor and all four turtles looked at the box.  
  
"Li - pa", Leo said softly, reading the label on the box. He jumped off the sofa and sat himself next to his brother on the floor.  
  
"Cool!" Raph said, leaning over Mikey to look.  
  
Donnie turned the T.V off and sat on the floor next to Leo. He looked at the cover on the medium sized, square box and traced his small fingers over the outline of it. "Looks old", he said, much to himself then his brothers.  
  
"What's La - pa?" Mikey asked.  
  
"It says Li - as in 'Lee' - pa, Mikey", Leo said. "I don't know", he added when Mikey's question roamed in his head.  
  
"Wanna see?" Raph asked.  
  
"Yeah", Leo and Donnie replied just when Mikey said 'no'.  
  
"Why not?" Raph asked his brother in orange.  
  
"'Cos 'Waph, 'wemember that film? Ju-min-gi".  
  
"Jumanji, Mikey", Donnie corrected.  
  
Mikey nodded and continued. "Well, they din't know what the game was and they all got hurt and it was scar'wie".  
  
"Only you was scared, Mikey!" Raph reminded him. They had only just watched that film last week and Raph had loved it. The action was the excitement Raph's young mind liked to watch.  
  
"SO!" Mikey shouted.  
  
"So . . . it was made-up, and this game isn't making a 'drumming' noise", Raph replied, gazing at the cardboard box in front of them all.  
  
"Lets open it", Leo said softly, sort of undecided.  
  
"No!" Mikey shouted, but Raph had already started to open it.  
  
The five-year-old red turtle grabbed the lid on the box and pulled it off.  
  
Inside was . . .  
  
"Ahhhhh! Monster!!" Mikey shouted, leaping to his feet.  
  
"No it isn't", Raph said, putting is hand inside the box and pulling something fluffy out. "It's a . . . um . . . Donnie?" Raph turned to the smartest one he knew. "What is it?"  
  
"It's a cat", Donnie said, but then he frowned. "No, it ain't, it's . . . um . . . Leo?"  
  
Leo looked at the squirming thing in Raph's hands and frowned. It was white in the skin (or fur) and had a cat face; it stared at Leo with bright blue eyes and made a kind of meowing noise. It had a cat's body and a long (LONG, Leo thought) tail. At the end of the tail - which was now wrapping around Raph's tiny arms - was a blue tip, the same colour as its eyes, which glowed brightly.  
  
Mikey smiled. "It's a Pokémon!!" he announced.  
  
"But why didn't the box move when it was in there . . .", Donnie said slowly.  
  
"Ew! Get it off me! Get it OFF me!" Raph scrunched up his face when the white animal licked him fondly on his cheek. "GROSS!"  
  
Leo smiled and volunteered to hold the animal. "Shall we give him a name first?" Leo asked his brothers. They couldn't just keep calling him (from what Leo could tell) 'it' or 'him' or 'her'.  
  
"Skippy!" Mikey said happily.  
  
Donnie just shrugged and nodded, a smile spreading on his face.  
  
"Kay", Leo nodded. "Raph, he won't hurt you. He looks okay".  
  
"What is it?" Raph asked, ignoring Leo's advice. He knew - what Mikey now christened - 'Skippy' wouldn't hurt him. Why did Leo have to act as though he was scared of a little, cat-thing like that?  
  
"Pokémon!" Mikey said.  
  
Donnie smiled and stroked Skippy's fur. The small animal looked like he smiled at Donnie, but he couldn't be sure. Skippy rested his head on Leo's small shoulder and closed his eyes, looking tired.  
  
"Master Splin'er won't let us keep him", Donnie pointed out quietly, taking his hand away from Skippy who was now sleeping peacefully. "He looks like a thing from a Pokémon world or something".  
  
"Erm . . . maybe we could hide him?" Mikey suggested.  
  
"Mikey!" Leo said, shocked. "We don't lie to Master Splin'er".  
  
Mikey's bottom lip wobbled. "But - but I wanna keep 'im!"  
  
"We can't keep him", Raph replied before Leo could say anything.  
  
"Why?" Mikey demanded, leaning over to Leo and stroking Skippy.  
  
"Because -." Raph started but he got cut off.  
  
"Because he will no doubt miss his own home", Splinter said softly, emerging from his room. He smiled at Mikey and put a hand on his head then he turned to Leo. "Leonardo, an explanation please", Splinter asked.  
  
"We found him in that box", Leo said, pointing to the abandoned box on the floor.  
  
Splinter smiled and held out his hands, indicating for Leo to give him Skippy. Leo smiled back and handed his Master the soft animal. He watched his Master stroke Skippy but he didn't wake him up.  
  
Splinter sat in his armchair and his sons sat on the floor in front of him.  
  
"I think . . ." Splinter began but he was interrupted by Mikey.  
  
"Pokémon - gotta catch 'em a-ll-ll,  
  
you know it is what we see,  
  
Pokémon - you're my best friend,  
  
in a world we must defend . . .  
  
. . . POKÉMON!"  
  
"MIKEY!" his brothers shouted.  
  
Mikey looked at his brothers and shrugged. "Sowie", he said sweetly.  
  
His brothers sighed and turned their big eyes to Splinter.  
  
Splinter sighed, knowing what his sons were pleading. "Ok", he said gently, giving a sleeping Skippy back to Leo and rising off his chair. "You may keep him, but I am going to try and find out where he came from . . . and if we can get him back", he added before walking back into his bedroom and closing the door softly.  
  
"Yay!" Mikey leaped to his feet and started dancing to the Pokémon theme.  
  
"Pokémon - gotta catch 'em a-ll-ll,  
  
you know it is what we see,  
  
Pokémon - you're -."  
  
"Mikey!" Raph shouted. "It isn't a Pokémon".  
  
Mikey frowned then shrugged. "Fine!" he said. "It's a Digimon then! . . .  
  
. . . Digimon - Digital monsters,  
  
Digimon g -."  
  
"Mikey!" Raph shouted again. "Stop it!"  
  
Mikey stuck his tongue out at his brother and sat back down on the floor. He hummed the 'Digimon' theme quietly to himself and listened to Donnie and Leo's conversation.  
  
"I know how to send him back", Donnie said softly to his brother in blue. Mikey stopped humming and looked at Donnie. Raph leaned forward to listen.  
  
"How?" Leo asked.  
  
"He came out of that box, right?" Donnie said.  
  
Leo nodded.  
  
"And it didn't move when he was in there, right?" Donnie asked.  
  
Leo nodded a second time.  
  
"Well", Donnie said. "I think we can get him back to wherever he came from by putting him in the box, putting the lid on, leaving it for a while and then opening it again and I think he won't be there but he'll be where he came from. Get me?"  
  
Leo nodded a third time. He stroked Skippy and looked at Raph.  
  
Raph nodded, indicating that his brother should try it.  
  
Leo smiled a little and looked at Mikey.  
  
"But - but - but -." Mikey said, his bottom lip trembling and his eyes filling.  
  
"Mikey, he isn't ours", Leo said softly.  
  
"But - but -." Mikey began.  
  
"Can't you say anything else?" Raph asked, folding his arms.  
  
"You want him to stay to, 'Waph!" Mikey said.  
  
"I do not!" Raph replied but his eyes lowered to the floor.  
  
"Lets try it", Leo said. He gave Skippy to Mikey and grabbed the box and the lid. He put the box in front of Mikey's feet and looked at his brother. "Go on Mikey", he said. "Put him in".  
  
A tear escaped Mikey's eye and fell from his puppy-dog eyes and onto his cheek. He hugged Skippy - who was still sleeping - tightly and put him in the box, tucking Skippy's tail in gently for him and watching him snooze peacefully.  
  
Leo looked at Donnie and his brother nodded at him.  
  
Leo put the lid on the box and all four turtles looked at it . . .  
  
Nothing moved.  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
"Try taking it off", Donnie said.  
  
Leo nodded and wrapped his little fingers around the lid. With a deep breath he took the lid off the box and all three of his brothers looked inside . . .  
  
Nothing.  
  
No Skippy . . .  
  
Nothing.  
  
"Gone", Raph whispered to himself but his brothers heard him and all of them nodded their heads.  
  
"It was exciting while it lasted . . ." Leo said slowly.  
  
"Aww, I'll miss him!" Mikey said, big teardrops falling from his eyes, soaking his orange bandanna.  
  
Donnie put a hand on Mikey's shoulder and smiled. "He'll be back where he belongs", Donnie said softly. Mikey sniffed loudly and nodded.  
  
"Cheer up, Mikey", Leo said.  
  
Mikey nodded again. "I j-just w-wanted to p-play with him!"  
  
"Calm down, my son".  
  
Mikey spun round and gazed fondly at his Master Splinter.  
  
Splinter smiled and walked over to his son. "He is better off at home. You wouldn't want to be taken away from here to a strange place now, would you?"  
  
Mikey shook his head.  
  
"And I don't think 'Skippy' - as you've named him - wouldn't like that either. You did the right thing", Splinter bent down to Mikey's level. "I am proud of you for that. You have learned a good lesson, Michelangelo, think how happy Skippy will be for you sending him back home".  
  
Splinter gazed at Donnie. "Well done, Donatello".  
  
Donnie blushed and nodded.  
  
"Now", Splinter said softly, smiling at his sons. "How about I give you your things back? You deserve the entertainment".  
  
His sons smiled brightly at him, including Raph. They all walked up to their Master, giving him a big group hug.  
  
//  
  
Mikey grinned happily when playing with his gameboy. He was sat in his bedroom, on his bed, pressing the buttons on his gameboy. He thought of Skippy and felt a pang of sadness. Mikey wiped his eyes to stop the tears that were threatening to fall. Skippy was the first friend he had that was from the outside world, even if he didn't talk.  
  
Mikey shook his head and stared at his gameboy screen.  
  
Nothing.  
  
Aww man, Mikey thought, the batteries went again.  
  
Mikey frowned and gazed in silence at the screen. He couldn't be bothered to find some more batteries that were spread around the lair.  
  
Mikey squinted his eyes when a soft blue light came from his gameboy. He pulled the small game console close to his eyes trying to make out what it was. He was sure his batteries were dead.  
  
A small animal pictured itself on the screen and Mikey's eyes shot open in surprise.  
  
"Skippy . . . ?" he said softly . . .  
  
(Finished! This one was different to my others but I thought, hey, nothing wrong with changing things round a bit! It's a bit like a Pokémon crossover, as you probably guessed! Hope you enjoyed it. It was only an idea! . . .  
  
. . . luv tmnt_luver xxXxx). 


End file.
